A consequence of the Second Punic war and theenslavement of 50,000 Carthaginians when Rome destroyed Carthage inthe Third Punic War (146 BC) and of 150,000 Epirotes after theThird Macedonian War (168 BC) was that many small farmers losttheir land.
The Roman army was a levy of small farmers whoreturned to their farms after a military campaigning season.Prolonged military service beyond a single campaigning season inthe Second Punic War caused many of these farmers to have toneglect their farms. The owners of large landed estates tookadvantage of this to buy land on the cheap. The flood of slaves onthe slave market in Rome provided these large landowners with anample supply of labour. The greater number of slaves were bought bythem. Abundant salve labour made the expansion of their estateseasier. As a result, many small farmers lost their land. This hadtwo ramifications. One was that the dispossessed farmers flocked toRome to eke out a living, swelling the masses on unemployed orunderemployed poor. The other were shortages of recruits for thearmy because soldiers had to own land. These problems were tackledby Tiberius Gracchus who introduced a land reform to redistributeland to the landless poor (133 BC) and Gaius Gracchus, who in 122BC introduced a grain dole in which the state distributed grain tothe poor at subsidised prices (later it was given for free). Theland reform was insufficient. Eventually, in 107 BC Gaius Mariusabolished the property threshold for the military levy, madejoining the army voluntary and open to the landless poor toovercome the mentioned shortages. The poor flocked to the army fora career, a pay and the grant of a plot of land to farm ondischarge.
Another problem was in Spain. After the Romansdefeated the Carthaginians in Spain during the Second Punic Warthey took over their territories in the south and much of the eastcoast. After the war Rome decided to remain in Spain and createdtwo Roman provinces there. This caused continuous resistanceagainst the Roman presence in Spain by the local tribes. The Romanshad to fight countless battles and lost many thousands of men.Because of this many soldiers stayed in Spain for six years andafter this they had to be resettled. The high death toll also mademany young men reluctant to join the levy. At times they foundexcuses to dodge it. This made the recruitment shortages worse.
The Roman army was a levy of small farmers whoreturned to their farms after a military campaigning season.Prolonged military service beyond a single campaigning season inthe Second Punic War caused many of these farmers to have toneglect their farms. The owners of large landed estates tookadvantage of this to buy land on the cheap. The flood of slaves onthe slave market in Rome provided these large landowners with anample supply of labour. The greater number of slaves were bought bythem. Abundant salve labour made the expansion of their estateseasier. As a result, many small farmers lost their land. This hadtwo ramifications. One was that the dispossessed farmers flocked toRome to eke out a living, swelling the masses on unemployed orunderemployed poor. The other were shortages of recruits for thearmy because soldiers had to own land. These problems were tackledby Tiberius Gracchus who introduced a land reform to redistributeland to the landless poor (133 BC) and Gaius Gracchus, who in 122BC introduced a grain dole in which the state distributed grain tothe poor at subsidised prices (later it was given for free). Theland reform was insufficient. Eventually, in 107 BC Gaius Mariusabolished the property threshold for the military levy, madejoining the army voluntary and open to the landless poor toovercome the mentioned shortages. The poor flocked to the army fora career, a pay and the grant of a plot of land to farm ondischarge.
Another problem was in Spain. After the Romansdefeated the Carthaginians in Spain during the Second Punic Warthey took over their territories in the south and much of the eastcoast. After the war Rome decided to remain in Spain and createdtwo Roman provinces there. This caused continuous resistanceagainst the Roman presence in Spain by the local tribes. The Romanshad to fight countless battles and lost many thousands of men.Because of this many soldiers stayed in Spain for six years andafter this they had to be resettled. The high death toll also mademany young men reluctant to join the levy. At times they foundexcuses to dodge it. This made the recruitment shortages worse.
